* To use highly visible uniformed officers to provide reassurance on the streets

* To deploy sufficient numbers to deal with incidents quickly and effectively.

* To look for early intervention to prevent violent crime.

* To take a firm but fair approach to anti-social behaviour.

* To provide adequate local cell capacity for all offenders. An extra 18 cells were made available through the use of a mobile unit from Staffordshire.

With an improvement in the weather, Friday and Saturday saw a return to the usual numbers attending the races, over 20,000 attending the final meet. Still, Saturday remained fairly peaceful, with only five arrests made - equalling Thursday's figure.

The strategy is not purely a policing matter.

The multi-agency initiative relies on co-operation between police, the Licensing Department, Environmental Health, Pubwatch and

He said Yellow Card makes his work easier: 'I think it's excellent. Although we already have a great relationship with the police, this means we have instantaneous access to their resources.'

The project came to conclusion adding 24 arrests to its record.

Inspector Peter Crowcroft from the City Centre CATS team said of the initiative: 'We really are thrilled with the outcome of this operation. In terms of reassurance to visitors, residents and businesses it has been invaluable. We had enough officers and support from outside agencies to respond positively to any given problem, often defusing the situation without the need for arrests. The other agencies involved had numerous successes of their own and the weekend has helped to build on the partnership approach to dealing with the issues facing our city.'

Speaking about Operation Yellow Card at the launch of the constabulary's annual report, Chief Constable Peter Fahy, said: 'We have had an enormously favourable reaction to this from bar owners and most surprisingly from the young people who we meet when we go out.'